US will oppose potential N. Korean worker dispatch to occupied Ukrainian territory: State Dept.

The United States will oppose any cooperation between Russia and North Korea on Russia-occupied parts of Ukraine's territory, a State Department official said Wednesday, amid speculation that North Korean workers could potentially be sent there for reconstruction work. Matthew Miller, the spokesperson, made the remarks as concerns have arisen that a recent security treaty between Russia and the North would likely bolster their military cooperation to the extent that Pyongyang could even com

Foreign AffairsJune 27, 2024

S. Korea, US, Japan voice concerns over 'weaponization' of economic dependencies

Top industry officials of South Korea, the United States and Japan expressed concerns Wednesday over the "weaponization" of economic dependencies on certain supply sources for strategic goods as they held their first trilateral meeting on economic security in Washington. South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Japanese Industry Minister Ken Saito issued a joint statement following the Commerce and Industry Ministerial Meeting, which undersco

Foreign AffairsJune 27, 2024

US expert raises possibility of S. Korea's nuclearization in case of Trump's reelection

The "entire" Korean Peninsula could go nuclear if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House, strikes an inadequate nuclear deal with North Korea and pulls out American troops from South Korea, a prominent US expert said Wednesday. Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, made the prediction in an article in Foreign Affairs magazine, noting the hope that "reasonable" lawmakers at the Capito

Foreign AffairsJune 27, 2024

N. Korea says it successfully conducted multiple warhead missile capability test

North Korea claimed to have successfully conducted a missile test aimed at securing multiple warhead capability, state media said Thursday, contradicting South Korea's assessment that the test is believed to have ended in failure. During the test conducted Wednesday, the North's Missile Administration "successfully conducted the separation and guidance control test of individual mobile warheads," the Korean Central News Agency said. The North said the test was "aimed at

North KoreaJune 27, 2024

[Graphic News] Deadliest fires in South Korea

At least 23 workers lost their lives and eight others sustained injuries in a fire that ravaged the Aricell lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. The blaze, which broke out on the second floor of the plant, claimed the lives of all the deceased victims as they were inspecting and packaging finished battery products. According to police reports, among the victims were 17 Chinese nationals, five South Koreans, and one Laotian. Following are the major fire and related inci

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

N. Korea sends trash-carrying balloons to S. Korea for 3rd day

North Korea on Wednesday sent balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea again, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, in what marked its third consecutive balloon launch campaign this week alone. The JCS said the balloons appeared to be travelling in a southeastern direction from the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul. It advised the public to not touch fallen balloons and report them to the military or police. With the latest launch, North Korea is estimated

North KoreaJune 26, 2024

Yoon likely to keep PM amid reports of Cabinet reshuffle

President Yoon Suk Yeol is likely to retain Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to local reports over an imminent Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday. Prime Minister Han has served in his post since Yoon's inauguration over two years ago. Han has stayed in the post even after he offered his resignation following the ruling bloc's defeat in the April general elections. The Cabinet reshuffle "will unlikely take place before end-June, and will likely be done after mid-July," a sen

PoliticsJune 26, 2024

Battery plant blaze reveals irregularities in hiring of foreign workers

The massive fire at a lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday has shed light on the irregularities in the hiring system for workers of foreign nationality here, with local employers suspected of abusing loopholes in the labor law for their benefit, to cut costs while avoiding responsibility. Local battery manufacturer Aricell, the operator of the plant, where the deadly fire killed 23 people, among which 18 were foreign national workers, was later found not to be even a

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

Police, Labor Ministry raid Aricell factory, partners

Police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor raided Aricell and partner companies that sourced workers for its battery plant on Wednesday to investigate irregularities in their operations after a deadly fire killed 23 workers and injured eight earlier in the week. The move came a day after the Labor Ministry charged five Aricell officials with violations of the Serious Accident Punishment Act and laws on professional negligence resulting in death or serious injury, as well as banning them fro

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

South Korea plans overhaul of mental health policy

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday vowed an overhaul of the nation's mental health policy as he presided over the first meeting of a presidential committee dedicated to expanding state support and changing the general perception toward mental illness. The government will start injecting an expanded state budget to address people's mental health starting next year. According to a senior official from the presidential office who declined to be named, the state support package is estima

PoliticsJune 26, 2024

Whooping cough outbreak spreads among Korean students

Schools across Korea are on high alert as cases of whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory illness, surge among students in different regions. Daegu city government officials reported 73 cases of the respiratory disease as of last Thursday, the highest number in the past decade. This is a significant increase from the four cases reported in all of last year. Of the 73 cases, 65 involve students from elementary, middle and high schools in Daegu. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis o

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

Police clear school, parents following teacher's death

The South Korean police said Wednesday that they would not press criminal charges against the parents of students or officials at a Daejeon school, saying they found no evidence of wrongdoing on their part related to last year’s suicide death of a teacher. Eight parents and two officials of Daejeon Yonsan Elementary School were under investigation for charges including obstruction of performance of official duties, with claims of alleged "excessive and malicious" complaints aga

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

YouTube linked to kids' reduced self-control: study

Do you find that kids today seem to lack patience and throw tantrums more often? A team of Korean psychiatrists point to YouTube as a potential culprit in their recently published study. Professor Shin Yun-mi and researchers at Ajou University studied 195 children aged 5 to 8 for 3 years between 2018 and 2021, measuring their temperament, YouTube usage patterns, and emotional and behavioral problems. Their findings suggest frequent YouTube use negatively impacts children’s temperament, a

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

Hangeul Party spreads beauty of Korean characters in Vietnam

Hangeul Party, an event aimed at promoting the beauty of Hangeul, which has played a crucial role in shaping Korean culture, was held in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City from June 21 to 24. The event was hosted and organized by the nongovernmental organization Hangeul Planet and The Korea Herald and sponsored by HiteJinro, South Korea's dominant soju and beer seller. At the Hangeul Party, students who major in Korean language at two Vietnamese universities -- the University of Economics and

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

Seoul wins UN Public Service Award for combatting digital sex crimes

SONGDO, Incheon -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government won a UN Public Service Award for its comprehensive policies combatting digital sex crimes at the UN Public Service Forum held in Songdo, Incheon, Wednesday. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, along with Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and UN Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua and 1,000 representatives from 100 different countries, attended Wednesday’s event. The UN Public Service Awards, first launched in 2003, are gi

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

Yonsei med profs to walkout indefinitely starting Thursday

The emergency committee of medical professors at Yonsei University said Wednesday afternoon it would walk out indefinitely in protest against the government's medical reform policies starting Thursday, fading hopes of an end to months of disruption in the country. A total of 531 out of 735 professors -- who double as senior doctors at Severance Hospitals in Seoul's Seodaemun-gu, Gangnam and Yongin in Gyeonggi Province -- voted in favor of striking. They said they would withdraw from th

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

Dispute rises over police deploying officers to plant fire site without gas masks

Korean National Police Agency has been embroiled in a controversy over an anonymous claim that it dispatched a strike unit to Monday's deadly battery plant fire site without gas masks. Police told local media that the controversial action was due to the officers being deployed in the area that was over 100 meters away from the battery plant in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. A person claiming to be a member of the police special operation unit said Tuesday that the unit had been s

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

Son Heung-min's father accused of child abuse at soccer academy

Son Woong-jung, father of South Korea national soccer team captain Son Heung-min, and two of the coaches at his soccer academy have been accused of verbally and physically abusing a youth athlete, local police said Wednesday. Parents of the child in question filed a complaint with authorities on March 19 against Son and two coaches at the Son Football Academy, where the elder Son is the director, in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. They said that Son had verbally abused their son for making mistak

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

N. Korea's trash balloons cause disruptions at Incheon Airport

Trash-filled balloons sent by North Korea disrupted the takeoff and landing of multiple airplanes at Incheon Airport early Wednesday. According to the Incheon International Airport Corp., the balloons caused delays of operations related to domestic and international flights that were scheduled to take off or land there between 1:46 a.m. and 4:44 a.m. The runways were fully operational as of Wednesday morning. Officials explained that the restriction was due to concerns that balloons could get

Social AffairsJune 26, 2024

Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, US, Japan discuss response to N. Korea's missile launch

Nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan discussed coordination efforts Wednesday after North Korea fired a ballistic missile that appears to have failed, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Lee Jun-il, director general for Korean Peninsula policy, shared the assessment on the latest missile launch, with his US and Japanese counterparts, Jung Pak and Yukiya Hamamoto, respectively, the ministry said. "The three sides condemned the North's ballistic missile launch as a

DefenseJune 26, 2024